We arrived Tuesday night, and were welcomed at the airport by a sign that says, “You are welcome to Ghana” in one column, and in another says, “You are not welcome to Ghana if you are a pedophile or sexual predator. If you are a sexual deviant you should leave now.” (I am paraphrasing, but it was a little startling at the entrance to the country. From what we could see in our naïve research prior to the trip, there has been a problem with child trafficking so maybe it’s just as well to get the warning out of the way at the beginning!) We decided to feel welcome.
We were surprised that there were not the groups of missionaries on the plane we are used to from our Uganda trips. We asked our host from the embassy about that and he said, “Perhaps they are already here.” And truly we hear groups of students singing Christian songs loudly in the evenings in a big field near our flat, so I guess he’s right.
The flat: it’s HUGE! We are on the University of Ghana campus in an area called Legon, which is quite far from central Accra. We have two bedrooms (though one has only a single bed, guests beware), a large kitchen with a small screened porch, a big living and dining room combo, an office, and a bathroom. There’s a TV we haven’t used yet, and as of today we have a stovetop to cook on. And a teeny fridge.
The university left us water and fruit, as well as some basic supplies, which is a big treat. Okay, so that’s the good news; the bad is that the water is pretty inconsistent. Which explains the two huge garbage cans filled with emergency water. Yesterday we had no running water at all. But we are like the boy scouts! Always prepared! So it was the REI solar shower for me last night, and now I know to take advantage of the water when it is running. Today, there is a trickle, so we are happy. Life’s little luxuries.
We have spent some time getting up and running with a modem and two phones. It seemed a little more organized here than in Uganda, but when we had to fill out numerous forms to get a SIM card, and stand in line for an hour – twice, because it didn’t work the first time – we realized we are indeed in Africa! So most of our time has been in a mall – where we shopped at ShopRite and Game, just like we did in Kampala. It was a little surreal.
We are surprised there are no boda-bodas (those buzzing motorcycles hauling people and dodging traffic), just taxis and trotros (little vans full of people). We asked about it, and a taxi driver told us Ghana doesn’t have them, though neighboring countries do. They also have a bike lane along the highway, though we have only seen about three bikes. The traffic seems orderly – though everyone says otherwise. Maybe we think it’s easier because they drive on the same side of the road that we do in the states. Another difference: Where we are, there are no rivers of people walking alongside the roads. And everyone is shocked when we say we walked from the university gate to the mall. We are lucky in that it isn’t horribly hot here right now; we’ll probably find out why no one is walking when it heats up.
We did manage yesterday to walk around the campus, and found a little market where we can get vegetables from vendors. It’s called the Night Market, but it’s open during the day. (Bill, in his jetlagged state, asked someone where the Evening Market was, and got a blank stare.) We tried to find the swimming pool, but went the wrong direction so ended up in the bookstore, so we dove into books. No suits needed.
Another Fulbrighter here, from Maryland, told us there is a yoga class at the fitness center (where the swimming pool apparently is) twice a week, so I’m going to tag along with him next week. It’s a half hour walk to the center at 6:30 a.m., but I am going to need yoga, I can tell! And Bill will need that pool. We’ll sort it out.
Next up: This weekend we plan a trip to the center of Accra, to the big market and to see the ocean. I have not taken ONE picture. We’ll do better this weekend.
Oh, and Eric and Katharine, yes, the blog should be "Under the Ghanaian Sun" but we thought that would confuse people with all those "a's". We are always being asked, "Where the heck is Ghana?" and we thought "Ghanaian" would send people over the edge. Apparently not some people!
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